Khutub Pingu

Last week was pretty hectic and I didn't really have the time to read anything properly. Had this book from the last Big Bad Wolf sale, picked it up on a whim and I'd say it's the best thing I got from the sale. Haven't got time to really sit down and play any of the games but I read through the history of them, the rules, the beautiful game boards and pieces, all the colours and details unique to the cultures they're representing. I don't know if i'll ever find the time to play them all. Sayang pulak nak pakai buku ni buat main.

Actually, this is the second time I read this fantasy. I picked it up from my pile in a hurry as I was already late for my flight. I wanted something quick so that I can try speed-reading on the go. Half way through, I knew I had read it before but I can't really recall the story. But that didn't stop me from continuing until the last page. It's a typical drama Melayu pukul 7 with a fantasy twist to it, of faraway kingdoms, magical talking animals, a mysterious curse, sword fights, all in the midst of family dramas and conflicts.

It's a 3 out of 5 stars from me.

On another note, I need to reshelve my piles. Read. To-be-read. To-be-REread. Lulz

Grant Snider's The Shape of Ideas is what I can call as poetry in illustration. It explores creativity in all sorts of shapes, colours, notions and emotions. The combinations of prose and illustrations opened my eyes to so many possibilities of how an idea could be developed into anything and everything.

One of the quotes that I love from this book is: You can be anything you want to be. But can you be everything you want to be?

Permata Laut Silan, by Aemir Khalid (story) and Anshari (illustration), is not a book but a comic serial I somehow found somewhere while looking for nothing in particular. I was drawn to its cover and the title amongst the glossed out magazines. When I flipped through the pages, I knew I had to submit to its calling.

So I already got myself three issues of Permata Laut Silan since October last year, with the third issue being in January 2018. I think I tertinggal kapal since its first issue was out in August.

Anyhoot. Permata Laut Silan chronicles the adventure of Seri and Hitam. Seri, an alchemist, is in the search of her jati diri, being a child of a Malay father and an European mother. Hitam is in a quest to find the cure for his curse of immortality.

The storytelling incorporates the elements of Malay folklore; dragons, kelembai to name a few, which to me is something unique and refreshing. I like its setting being in the 13th century Nusantara. It's something different from the usual fantasy staple I had before. The premise is intriguing and the illustration is on par.

It's a 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.

I'm patiently waiting for the next installment due next March. Adoi. Pasaipa la lambat lagi...

I don't know how I ended up on Listverse going through Top 10 Gruesome Murders in British Columbia, 10 Unsolved Murder Mysteries of Trinidad & Tobago, 10 Weird Murder Weapons, 10 Deaths Linked To the Paranormal and the likes. If you look into my browser history, I think your first thought would be to call the police. You'd think I'm a psycho. A serial murderer on the loose. You'd think of Criminal Mind and you'll call me an unsub.

Come to think of it, maybe I am a serial murderer... in the making. I killed people or rather, characters in my books. I am a writer. As I went through the books that I've written, I now realised that I have killed quite a few in a span of ten years.

Took me four nights to finish this children fantasy. I just want to savour every chapter word by word because it's going to take who knows how long until I found another of Hizairi Othman's work. I started reading Malay fantasy when I found his Syonagar. I don't have that book anymore as my parents donated almost all of my childhood's books to charity some years ago. It's very hard to find Hizairi's books as all of them are now out of print. And if you do some research on him, you'll know the story.

Anyways. Kai Di Lembah Urda is a typical children fantasy. Three friends, Zarin, Albert and Suresh were somehow transported to Lembah Urda, populated by Puak Oku and Puak Uzu. There, they became the legendary Kai, who with their involvements, were instrumental in the quest to defeat the evil that was trying to divide and conquer Lembah Urda.

The storytelling is pretty simple and straight-forward. I love how the author detailed the differences of the two races in terms of their languages, physical attributes and cultures.

I find it quite funny where there's a part in which Suresh passionately explained to the Okus about where he and his friends came from. It was a crash course on Malaysia. I skimmed most of the paragraphs. Then there's this line where Suresh lamented that all his explanations were to know avail as no one is truly interested. Dah kena batang hidung sendiri, kan?

Three out of five stars for this one. I am still on my quest to find a copy of Syonagar. And titles from Kelab Buku Kenari series.

Breathe is Dr. Beni Rusani's debut novel. To me, it's an unputdownable page-turner story about its flawed main character, Dr. Adam, on a single day, in which the cardiologist, is about to die, ironically, of a heart attack. It's a medical drama with a nice balance between medical jargon and everyday ups-and-downs of its characters. It's a story about hope and second chances, especially to oneself.

I feel Dr. Beni managed to make Adam a human, not just a doctor but someone just like us, a friend, someone's son, a relative, someone's husband, his/her father, who lives and breathes all the emotions of a life's struggles. I love how he smoothly interspersed flashbacks of Adam's past within the moving narrative of that single fateful day.

Though I do feel most of the time, the conversations between the characters were a bit too American. I don't know, really. Maybe because I'm somewhat only familiar with American medical drama so I tend to imagine them that way. Well, maybe Malaysian doctors do speak like that.

Well, anyway. I give 'Breathe' four out of five stars. All in all, it's an interesting read. I managed to finish it after two sittings. Usually, English novels would take me at least five sittings. With 'Breathe', the storytelling itself is gripping and you really want to know what's on the next page, chapter after chapter. I stayed up till almost 2 a.m on the last sitting.